The art of providing latches for gates and doors has been pursued for many years. As a result, a large number of patents have been granted for latches of one type or another. Most of these latches comprise a pivoting bar controlled by a lever.
One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,326,554 to Watson wherein a pivotal latch is formed of a rod which is slidably positioned to lock a gate or door. U.S. Pat. No. 1,728,747 to Cheser discloses a lockable latch operated by a key.
Latches which utilize padlocks for securing a door are common in the art. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,663 to Grodt et al. wherein a slidable and pivotal bar includes an aperture through which a padlock is placed. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,344 to Newlon et al. describes a pivotal latch having eyelets through which a padlock is secured.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,575 to Robins, a pivotal latch is disclosed which slides into an aperture for locking a door.
While these prior art latches perform well for their intended applications, there is no satisfactory device which provides a simple and foolproof design to lock a door or gate.